Boonton Township police said burglaries have doubled in 2012, and that residents should look out for one another.Lori M. Nichols

BOONTON TOWNSHIP — A resident was charged with multiple violations after his pit bull killed a neighborhood house cat on Christmas Day, Boonton Township police said in a news release this week.

At about 1:45 p.m., police responded to a River Road address for a report of a pit bull attacking the cat, and found the animals in the driveway of the residence, police said. Officers intervened and were able to separate the animals, but the cat had suffered extensive injuries, and had to be euthanized, police said.

The owner of the pit bull, Mark Flynn of Boonton Township, was charged with allowing his dog to run at large, allowing a dog to be a public nuisance and owning an unregistered dog, police said.

He surrendered the pit bull to the Montville Animal Shelter for adoption, police said.